Toad Boy
by revpanda
Summary: Jiraiya stepped up and raised Naruto and no one back in Konoha even knows he exists. But soon enough he'll return to attend the Academy and start his own journey as a ninja. How will a well trained Naruto progress and what will the affect be on others. Just Naruto for now, pairing to come later. New writer here, give me a shot. Rated M just in case, mostly for violence later on.
1. Chapter 1

Hi there folks, I'm revpanda and this is my very very very first fanfiction. I'm a complete noob when it comes to writing fanfiction but hopefully some people out there will enjoy it. I'd appreciate any reviews and comments on the story, specifically if it turns out I'm spelling a character's name wrong or something like that. I don't have a pairing for this story yet and I'm open to suggestions. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Toad Boy

Chapter 1: Jiraiya steps up.

"Jiraiya, wake up!"

The sage swatted at the toad sitting on his face knocking him down onto the floor of the rented room.

"Stupid boy." The toad promptly got up and rubbed his head before jumping back up onto Jiraiya's face and then stomped a foot down onto his nose. "I said wake up boy!"

Jiraiya sat up dumbly, "Wha? What's going on?" Jiraiya looked down at the old toad standing on the bed, "Pa? What are you doing here?"

"Trying to bring you a warning, lazy"

Jiraiya rubbed his eyes, "Can't it wait till morning?", his head lowering back down onto the pillow.

The old toad's eyes scowled as he grabbed Jiraiya's shirt front, his voice slowly rising, "You know, I came here personally after having to get a description of a vision the Old Toad Sage had out of him that he had half forgotten and all you want to do is go back to sleep?!"

Jiraiya sat back up instantly becoming more awake, "The Old Toad Sage had a vision? What's going on?"

Pa looked toward Jiraiya seriously, "It's Konoha, its going to be under attack."

Jiraiya yells out, "WHAT! By who?!"

Pa shook his head, "It dangerous kid, I'm not even sure I should be telling you."

Jiraiya looked down at Pa, "Come on, I'm the Great Toad Sage, nothing can stop me."

"This can, it's a bijuu. It's the nine-tailed fox."

Jiraiya's eyes went wide and after a moment of stunned silence, "Oh no."

0 0 0 0

Jiraiya was crashing through the trees, he'd seen the destuction of Konoha but he'd also seen the Kyubi in the distance and he was heading to where he'd last seen it. It was dark out and he was moving fast, Pa was on his shoulder helping him go faster, desperately hoping that he would get there in time, but at the same time he had a knot in his stomach.

Suddenly there was a poof of smoke, directly in front of Jiraiya and he had to quickly come to a stop. In front of him stood the sealing toad, Gamatora. Jiraiya looked to the toad but it was Pa that spoke up first. "Gamatora, what are you doing here?"

Gamatora saluted toward Pa, "Minato sent me, he used me to seal a key. He says that I am to be stored inside Jiraiya immediately."

Pa looked worried, but it was Jiraiya who spoke up this time. "Where is Minato? Is he still fighting the Kyubi."

Gamatora looked around, "He's not far, although I'm not sure exactly where." Jiraiya was about to rush off, "Jiraiya wait! I must seal this key inside of you!" Jiraiya nodded and rushed back towards Gamatora, the toad placed his hand on Jiraiya's chest and with a poof of smoke he was gone. Jiraiya resumed rushing through the trees.

Finally, Jiraiya broke through into a clearing and for a moment there was a bright light. And then there was just Minato and Kushina standing by an altar for just a moment, before they both slumped down lifelessly to the ground. Jiraiya let out a wordless scream and rushed to his student's side.

Reaching Kushina and Minato, Jiraiya immediately saw that Kushina's eyes were glazed over, she was dead. Minato however laid on the ground, a large wound going through his shoulder, but Jiraiya also saw the seal on his chest, the Shiki Fujin. Minato was as good as dead, but yet his arm reached up and Jiraiya fell to his knees by his student's side and grabbed Minato's hand.

Minato coughed, the blood coming from his mouth making him barely understandable, "Sensei... my son... please take care of Naruto..." And for the first time, Jiraiya noticed the baby laying on the altar, the blonde hair the same as his father although most of his other features came from his mother. Minato squeezed his had, "Please... watch him... he'll... need you... jin...churiki... I'm so sorry... please... please sensei."

Minato seemed to have trouble seeing by this point and Jiraiya leaned forward and put his forehead against Minato's. "You stupid boy, of course I'll look after your son. He'll know who is parents were. He'll know they were heroes."

Minato smiled, just slightly, before his eyes closed and his life faded away.

Minutes passed, there was someone tugging on his ear. "Jiraiya boy, come on. You can't just sit here and I have to go, I'll get some help for Konoha sent to you. Jiraiya looked up and looked around. In all the rush he'd completely forgotten about Pa. As if walking out of a tunnel, Jiraiya finally noticed that there were other's nearby, specifically his sensei.

Jiraiya stood up, the knees of his pants and his hands covered in blood, before he walked up to the Sandaime and the baby Naruto. Pa seeing him struggling with getting his hands clean pulled out a towel and was able to get most of it off, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Then Jiraiya reached down and picked up baby Naruto and looked down at him. He'd been sleeping but the movement had woken him up and Jiraiya found himself looking down at two bright blue eyes. So innocent with no idea that his family had just been taken from him.

Sarutobi was talking to him... he'd missed most of what he'd said but he caught on quickly enough, "... place him in an orphanage, they can take care of him. The village will need to know what happened but I can make a law about no one talking about the Kyubbi being sealed away."

Jiraiya shook his head, "I'm sorry Sensei, what did you just say?"

Sarutobi looked up at Jiraiya and could tell that greif had washed through his pupil. "The child, he'll have to be protected. We can have him put in an orphanage, hide his identity."

Jiraiya looked down at the boy in his arms, he would never even consider what he was about to do, but seeing Minato and hearing his last words, he realized that he had no choice, "He's not an orphan, he's my god-son, I'll take care of him." Sarutobi looked at him a bit shocked but before he could speak Jiraiya pushed on, "And as for the village you can't tell them the whole truth. I know you think that people can be good, but I'm not risking people not understanding. If you tell the village he's a jinchuriki, many will not understand, in fact some may even be so blind as to see him as the Demon Fox."

Sarutobi looked down at the boy, realizing that what Jiraiya suggested was a very real possibility, this was Minato's son and he deserved more than that. "So, what do we tell them?"

Jiraiya thought a moment, "Tell them that Minato was able to use a jutsu that defeated the Kyubi, by tapping into an unusual power within his own son. If they ask about the boy, tell them that the boy is being placed with a family and that he will be raised as one of their own. That no one is allowed to know who the child really is, for his own safety. While everyone starts looking at each others clans for the child, I'll be off raising Naruto on my own."

Sarutobi shook his head, "The council will never stand for being left in the dark, neither will the clan heads." Then he looked down at the boy, "And you can't hide the boy away forever, eventually he'll have to come back and go to the academy, the boy deserves that much, what then?"

"I'm sorry Sensei, I can't think that far ahead yet. Naruto deserves to know the truth about himself before everyone else. He does deserve to be a ninja, but right now I can't think about that. I need to go, now, no one can be allowed to see me with the child."

"Jiriaya, you won't even stay for the funeral?", Sarutobi said looking down at the bodies.

"No, the child comes first." Jiriaya forced one of his smiles onto his face, "I'll leave everything to you, good luck Sarutobi-sensei."

With a puff of smoke, Jiraiya disappeared, the child with him. Sarutobi looked down to the body of Minato and heaved out a sigh, then he turned to the altar and dismissed it. Looking up at the night sky, Sarutobi felt the weight of the world on his shoulders as he knew that once again, he was Hokage.

0 0 0 0

7 Years Later:

Crouching in the tree a young boy, dressed in black pants, orange t-shirt, wearing shoulder holster pouches and a pair of sandals waited. The young boy, covered in dirt and a random leaf in his hair with grass stains on his pants, was looking down across the clearing to his pursuer. He had been actively hiding for almost an hour now, jumping from tree to tree. The boy quickly drew in his breath as his target moved into just the right spot. The boy smiled and drew his kunai and threw it towards rope he had set up, with a snap and a twang the rope broke and a crashing sound was heard as the trap under his targets feet was sprung. It looped around his foot and dragged him up into the air.

The boy grabbed his belly while pointing to the older man bobbing at the end of the rope and started laughing. "I got you!"

"Oh did you, Naruto?" said a voice from behind the boy.

Naruto jumped up startled by the sudden noise to see his target looming over him with a scowl. "Uh... hi pervy grandpa." Naruto looked back to where his trap had been sprung to see a log tied to the rope in place of the older man. "Hey! That's cheating pervy grandpa!"

Jiraiya put his hand to his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "How many times have I told you not to call me that..."

The boy looked up and innocently tilted his head to the side, "Which part the pervy or the grandpa?"

Jiraiya's eyes popped open with his hands waving in the air, "Both! Both parts! I told you I do research! And I'm not old enough to be a grandpa yet!"

Naruto scratched his head and then shook it, "That not what the ladies at the bath house said, they said that you were peeping on them and that I should make sure not to turn out pervy like you." Naruto then broke into his patented big smile, "Oh... and you're plenty old."

Jiraiya's arms dropped to his sides in defeat, "Oh come on kid, give me a break about the bath house." Naruto just kept grinning at him, so Jiraiya reached down and picked him up by his belt and started to carry him like luggage. "Anyway, that's enough playing for today... time for a bath and bed. Your filthy."

Naruto struggled for a minute, "It's not playing! I'm doin' ninja training!" Finally giving up on the struggle Naruto crossed his arms and pouted as he was carried away. Although he did finally look up towards Jiraiya, "Umm... can you tell me one of the stories tonight when I go to bed?"

Jiraiya chuckled, "Sure kid."

Naruto cheered, "Thanks pervy grandpa!"

Jiraiya sighed.

0 0 0 0

"And it was then, that Minato sprung into action, like a flash he appearred all over the battlefield, anywhere there was a Konoha ninja in trouble, he was there to save them, while at the same time attacking the enemy as they ran from the Yellow Flash!" Jiraiya said, he voice saying his old students title as if he was a superhero.

Naruto was still awake with his eyes big with a sparkle in them as his bedtime story came to end. He looked to Jiraiya, "Wow! My dad was the most awesome ninja ever!" Jiraiya smiled down at the boy. "Pervy Grandpa, when can we go to Konoha, you've shown me tons of pictures but I wanna go there in person!"

Jiraiya ruffled the boys hair before pushing him back down to lay his head on his pillow, while pulling his blankets up. "Not yet, Naruto, you'll get to go there soon enough. Now get some sleep, gaki. And in the morning, I'll make you one of my famous Sage Omelets."

Naruto suddenly got a disgusted look on his face before pulling the covers over his head. Jiraiya had a feigned hurt look, "Oh they aren't that bad, are they?" The blanket covered boy nodded his head. "Fine, you can make whatever breakfast you want then. Goodnight Naruto."

Naruto peeked out from under his covers as Jiraiya got up off the bed and went to leave the room. "Goodnight, Pervy Grandpa." Jiraiya paused as his head fell and then he shut the Naruto's bedroom door.

As Jiraiya walked down the stairs of the house, he looked around. The Toad House Jutsu hadn't been originally designed to be setup as any sort of permanent resident, but with some modifications to the jutsu as well as some seals placed around the building for stability it had become a portable home for Jiriaya and young Narrator. Walking down the stairs there were pictures on the wall and many of them were of Naruto, although there were also pictures of Minato and Kushina. Jiraiya had for a bit thought of not telling Naruto until he was older, about who his parents were, but finally decided that he didn't have the right to keep it from the boy. Instead he stressed to Naruto the importance of him not telling anyone about who he his parents were until he was old enough and at least a chunnin.

Reaching the bottom of the steps, Jiraiya went into the living room and sat down on the couch with a oomph. He looked around the room that had a very homey feel. There wasn't much that was nice and new in the house, between Naruto's running around with his amazing amount of energy... anything nice would have gotten broken and anything new wouldn't stay that way for long. So instead, the house conveyed comfort, from the old and worn yet comfy couch, to the rug that he'd been given by Ma and Pa when he'd first started setting up the house.

Jiraiya put his feet up on the coffee table and let out a sigh as he closed his eyes, keeping up with the boy was quite the task. Naruto had so much energy it was enough to even tire out a Sannin. Just as Jiraiya was feeling the aches in his muscles start to relax, there was the sound of a poof of smoke from in front of him. Jiraiya cracked open an eye to see two small old toads in robes standing on either side of his legs on the coffee table. Jiraiya looked at the two with a slightly grumpy look, "Ma... Pa... I was just about to get some shut eye, Naruto had me chasing him around all day today. What's up?"

Pa looked at Jiraiya, "My boy, its just about time. You've been putting it off for awhile now."

Jiraiya waved one of his hands back and forth, "Its not that big of a rush, I'll still make my meetings with all my contacts, but I had to wait for someone to watch Naruto."

Ma jumped up onto Jiraiya's shoulder and whacked him upside the head, "Not that boy! We don't care about your network for Konoha. We are talking about the child... he needs to go to Konoha!"

Jiraiya sighed, but sat up, his elbows resting on his knees. "I know. I know. But its hard, even with me on the move, I'm still able to keep him nearby and make sure he's okay. How do I know he'll be okay there? I can't rely on the Old Man to watch him all the time, he's busy enough as it is. What if he's in trouble? What if people find out about Kyubi?"

Ma patted his head while Pa nodded for a moment before saying, "We understand. But think about Naruto for a second. He needs friends, he needs to be around kids his own age. Some kids start at the academy as early as six years old. You know he wants to go and you know he's more than capable, he already has nearly enough skill if not the maturity to be a genin... but he needs kids his age. Because one day those kids are going to be his teammates."

Jiraiya sighed yet again, "But where is he going to stay, I'm not going to have him living in one of those orphanage houses all by himself. And due to us keeping it a secret from the clans on who Naruto really is, we can't tap into the funds left behind by Minato."

Pa shrugged, "So then leave him with family."

Jiraiya gave Pa Toad a sour look, "That's not funny, you know he doesn't have any living family."

Pa rolled his eyes, "Not his family... yours."

Jiraiya's mouth opened wide, "You can't be serious, I haven't talked to them in ten years, we've never quite seen eye to eye, why do you think they'd want to help me now?"

Ma jumped down to stand next to Pa, "Because, they're your family. Think about it at least, the next Academy year starts in three months." And with that the two elder toads were gone in a poof of smoke.

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Well, that's the end of chapter 1, I hope you've enjoyed this so far. At this point, no one in Konoha besides Sarutobi even knows about Naruto. In fact if Sarutobi went ahead with Jiraiya's plan then all of the clans are probably suspecting each other of raising Fourth Hokage's child... but we'll see how well that works out later. Again, thank you for reading my story thus far, and please drop me a review, it would be nice to see what people think.

- revpanda


	2. Chapter 2

Alright folks, not a day has passed since I put up chapter one, and while I was originally going to wait a few days, I'm just about finished with chapter 3 so I figured what the hell, I might as well just go ahead and update. I've gotten two reviews so far and that alone made me really happy, as well as people starting to favorite and follow the story. I'd appreciate some more reviews of course, positive and (constructive) negative feedback are welcome. So with out any further delay...

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. :(

Toad Boy

Chapter 2: Big Winnings

Three kunai went 'thunk' into the tree, one after another.

"Good job, Naruto! Good grouping and you are getting a bit faster." Jiraiya ruffled the boy's hair as Naruto looked up at his grandpa with a big grin on his face. Jiraiya tapped his finger against his chin, "Although I think you should start practicing at a greater distance, you are still quite close and you need to make sure you are still accurate from farther away."

Naruto got a serious look on his face and nodded, before running over to the tree to retrieve his three practice kunai. Naruto was wearing his favorite orange t-shirt and a pair of black shorts and as he pulled the kunai from the tree he put them away in the holster tied to his right leg. The kunai were as sharp as any other kunai, but they were a bit lighter than most and wouldn't be overly effective in actual combat but they were useful for training young shinobi.

As the boy came back over, Jiraiya said, "Why don't you continue with your exercises and we'll start training you from a greater distance when I get back."

The boy frowned for a moment, "Do you really have to go?", Naruto asked. Jiraiya nodded.

Suddenly Naruto's head perked up and a grin appeared on his face, then he turned and ran off to the nearest tree, jumping up and disappearing in the leaves. A few moments later Jiraiya heard the sound of footsteps coming around the side of the house, turning he smiled at seeing the arrivals.

"Heya Baka, where's the brat," asked a busty blonde followed closely by a short-haired brunette carrying a tiny pig in clothes.

Jiraiya raised his hand in greeting his old teammate, "Tsunade, good to see you. Shizune, you too." The brunette woman bowed her head slightly in greeting and the pig let out an indignant oink. "And you as well Tonton. How've you been?"

Tsunade didn't even seem to hear him and was scanning the trees, her eyes squinting slightly as she looked around. She leaned down and picked up a small rock and bounced it in her hand a few times as she continued to look around. Tsunade placed the pebble on her thumb and with her finger she flicked it off into the trees. A sound of surprise was followed by rustling leaves before a human shaped leafy figure fell and hit the ground. After a few moments however, there was a shimmer and Naruto appeared laying on the ground rubbing his forehead. Tsunade looked from the now visible boy to Jiraiya as the man grinned, "Jiraiya... you taught him the Camouflage Jutsu? Isn't he too young for it?" Shizune ran over to where Naruto had fallen.

Jiraiya shook his head, "Nah, actually the kid has a real knack for Henge, and this isn't much more than a more advanced version of it. And besides, you didn't like his other transformation jutsu..."

Tsunade scowled at the older looking man, "I told you what I'd do to you if I saw him use that 'Sexy-no-jutsu' again. Its bad enough that he found those magazines of yours!"

Jiraiya casually let one of his hands move down to protect his crotch, "Anyway, thanks for coming. It should only be for about a week this time."

Shizune came walking over with Naruto, who was still rubbing his forehead that showed a red mark from where he got hit by the Tsunade's pebble. Naruto looking up to the blonde woman, "Granny, how did you see me? I was invisible!"

Tsunade scowled down at the boy, "You're still fifty years too early to try and sneak up on me." Naruto looked at her a bit confused. "I heard you rustling in the leaves, brat. Now go get yourself cleaned up, you are going to be helping Shizune make dinner." She said with a gentle slap to the back of Naruto's head.

Naruto smiled, "Okay Granny!" Then he turned and ran towards the front of the house.

Tsunade's face turned bright red as she spun around and yelled after him, "I told you not to call me that!"

Jiraiya laughed but quickly stopped as Tsunade turned her glare on him. He coughed lightly to try and cover his smile. "So Tsunade, by any chance have you thought about returning to Konoha."

The blonde turned serious and narrowed her eyes at her former teammate, "You know I have no intention of returning, why are you even asking?"

Jiraiya sighed, "Because, Naruto needs to start school soon and I can't stay in Konoha full time. I figured if you moved back to Konoha then Naruto could stay with you."

Tsunade put her hand up to her head, sighing, "I'm not moving back to Konoha just so the gaki can have a place to stay. You know I have no intention of returning. Besides, don't you have any other ideas, like what about Minato's old student... Kakashi. Maybe Naruto could stay with him."

Jiraiya sighed, "Kakashi doesn't even know about Naruto. I do have another option though, its just not something I want to do."

"What's that?" asked Tsunade.

Jiraiya paused for a moment, "I could ask my brother."

Tsunade whistled low, "When was the last time you even spoke to Kenta?"

"A little less than ten years ago." Jiraiya said bashfully.

Tsunade shook her head, "So your plan is that after about ten years, you are going to just show up with a kid and ask him to watch over him. That's your plan?" Jiraiya just shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, good luck with that, baka. Now you better go get your stuff and say good-bye to Naruto. I expect you back here in a week, on the dot. I've got places to be and bets to make."

Jiraiya nodded, "I won't be late, Hime. Although if you lose all your money to Naruto again, you won't have anything to bet."

0 0 0 0

Naruto leaned forward and pulled all the chips on the table towards himself, a giant smile played across his face. "I win!"

Tsunade was sitting across the kitchen table from Naruto, banging her head against the table. "How... how... how..." She then stood up and pointed at the seven year old boy, "How can you possibly beat me all the time! Has Jiraiya been teaching you to cheat at cards?!"

From the side, where Shizune had just finished putting away all the dishes after cleaning from dinner, "He isn't cheating, Tsunade-sama. What's his total at now?"

Tsunade looked up and did a mental calculation then took out a small book she kept on her person, after looking through it, she banged her head on the table a few more times before leaning back in the chair defeated. "After today, I now owe Naruto more money than any single person in my book."

Naruto was still happily stacking his chips on the other side of the table. Shizune stared at the boy for a second, "Well, lucky for you, you don't have to pay him until he becomes a Chunnin, that was the deal right?" Tsunade nodded her head. "Well then, Tsunade-sama, you still have plenty of time to come up with the money you owe."

Naruto finally looked up from his chips, "Did you want to keep playing, Granny?"

Tsunade got a glint in her eye, but before she could grab the cards to deal out another hand, Shizune scooped them up off the table. "No Naruto, you and Tsunade-sama are done with cards, its time for bed." Both Tsunade and Naruto let out awws of sadness. But Shizune just pointed Naruto towards the stairs. "We'll be up to tuck you in soon, go get yourself ready." Naruto nodded and despite his earlier protest he yawned as he headed up the stairs.

Naruto got to his room and changed into his pajamas before going to the bathroom. He got up on the stool that he had Jiraiya buy him so he could see into the mirror while brushing his teeth. As always he touched the whisker marks that were on his face. He knew why they were there, Jiraiya had told him over a year ago, all about the Kyuubi. Naruto lifted his shirt and stared at his stomach in the mirror before poking at his own belly with his finger. "Hey furrball, I know you are in there. My dad put you in there so I can keep an eye on you, so you won't hurt anyone."

A voice came from the door, "You talking to yourself, gaki?"

Naruto turned to see Tsunade leaning against the door jam, "No, I'm talking to the furrball." Naruto said, once again poking himself in the stomach.

Tsunade paled a bit, "Naruto, you don't actually talk to the Kyuubi do you? Can you hear him talking?"

Naruto looked at her like she was a bit crazy, "What? No way! But I get the feeling he can hear me and I just want to make sure he remembers that I'm the boss." Naruto smiled at Tsunade.

She breathed a sigh of relief but after a moment looked at Naruto, "Hey gaki, promise me something. If you ever do hear Kyuubi talking, make sure you tell someone, okay?" Naruto nodded although he looked a bit confused. Tsunade smiled at him. "Thanks gaki, now lets get you into bed, Shizune will be up in a minute. With that Naruto rinsed his mouth one last time, before hopping off his stool and heading off towards his bedroom.

0 0 0 0

Naruto had just fallen asleep a few minutes ago and Shizune was currently carrying a cup of tea outside to where Tsunade was sitting. It was a fairly nice night with just a bit of a chill in the air and Tsunade was looking up at the stars as Shizune came and sat next to her and handed her a mug.

The both sat in companionable silence for a while before Shizune spoke up, "Naruto sure is growing."

Tsunade nodded, "Yeah, he is. He still looks like Kushina though, except for that blonde hair of his." Shizune smiled and nodded. Tsunade took a sip of tea, "Although, really... he reminds me a lot of Nawaki."

Shizune froze, it was very very rare for Tsunade to mention her deceased little brother, at least not without having a couple cups of saki in her first. Shizune eventually spoke up,"He does, its a bit uncanny."

The blonde smiled a sad smile, "For the last few years, every couple months we come and watch Naruto so Jiraiya can take care of his network." Tsunade suddenly burst into a laugh, "Do you remember the first time he called for help."

Shizune laughed along with her master, "When that toad showed up saying that Jiraiya was in dire need of help and that we had to come quickly. We ran for the entire night to get to where he was just to find him in a hotel room, with a blank look on his face, rocking back and forth holding Naruto. He looked like he'd gone crazy and hadn't slept at all."

Tsunade chuckled, "I don't think he had. He was so clueless about what to do with a baby. We were with him for a month before we left. I still remember him begging us to not leave, but he was a fast learner and he really wanted to do his best."

Leaning back on her elbows, Shizune looked back at the Toad House, "Well, he got this house setup and I think Naruto is a pretty happy kid, even though he doesn't have any friends his own age yet. Jiraiya has done a good job."

Finishing her tea, Tsunade handed her mug to Shizune, "Yeah, I wouldn't tell him to his face, but I'm really proud of Jiraiya for what he's done. He could easily have left Naruto in the care of someone else at the village. But Minato and Kushina chose him as god-father, I think they'd be proud of him to. Now if we can just get him to stop writing that awful smut!"

Shizune chuckled before standing up to head back into the house, "That might be asking too much. He's still Jiraiya after all."

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Some where in a remote village, Jiraiya lets out a sneeze. All talking ceases at the woman's bath house and then a mob of angry women break through the fence Jiraiya had been peeping through, intent on dealing out some 'justice'!

0 0 0 0

Alrighty folks, a bit shorter than the intro, but essentially I write five pages in my word program and then copy and paste it. And have no fear, I don't plan to make an OP Naruto, but a simple camouflage jutsu taught by the master peeper to a kid who has a knack for henges seemed reasonable. This child will not have an arsenal of jutsu before the academy. But I figured the different clan kids usually had at least one trick under their belt even when they were young, so it wasn't unreasonable that Naruto could learn a little something. With this chapter I just wanted to establish the basic environment Naruto was raised in, show that Jiraiya has certainly had some help along the way. He's still running around controlling his network but he's also still a peeping tom doing his 'research' and getting pummeled for it.

As always, reviews are appreciated and thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Alrighty folks, time for the third installment of the story. I'm glad people have been enjoying and I appreciate the Favorites and the Reviews. Once again, reviews are great and any positive or negative feedback (as long as its constructive) is greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 3: A Dinner Guest

Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was sitting in his office, he'd been working for the last three hours and he still felt like he hadn't put a dent in his nemesis... paperwork. Deciding to take a break, he walks over to the window to take a look out at Konoha. In the seven years since the attack, the village had recovered although it wasn't the same as it use to be. There had been a general happiness to the village that had left at the passing of Minato. He had been loved by the village and all had mourned his passing. One of the biggest problems to come up had been the growing unrest with the Uchiha clan. They were unhappy with their situation, they wanted the next Hokage to be an Uchiha although they didn't have any viable candidates Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha clan obviously wanted the job. But he was too cold and he'd never had the skill at being a ninja to make him a suitable leader of the village.

There was a noise behind Sarutobi and he turned around to see a red and black toad sitting on the floor, holding out a scroll. There was only one person who would be sending him a message via toad and after he took the message, the toad disappeared in another puff of smoke. Sarutobi unfurled the message and after taking a look through it, he wandered back over to his desk.

After sitting down he spoke, apparently to no one, "Dog, I have need of you."

In an instant, an ANBU in a dog mask appeared before the Hokage, "Yes, Lord Hokage?"

Sarutobi looked up at his ninja, "Jiraiya of the Sannin has need of some help. He's going to be bringing someone to this village that is going to need to be watched and guarded. He's asked for you specifically in this. You'll be going as yourself, so you can remove your mask, Kakashi."

The ANBU took off his mask, revealing a half mask underneath and a Konoha headband over one eye, "Lord Hokage, I respect Master Jiraiya, but why am I being sent? Who does Master Jiraiya have with him."

The Hokage breahed out a sigh, "This mission and any information you learn while on it, is going to be classified as an S class secret. As for who the person is, Jiraiya wishes to do the introductions. You'll be gone for a week, as he wishes for the two of you to become acquainted. You leave in the morning."

Kakashi narrowed his eye at the Hokage, but then shrugged. "Of course, Lord Hokage. And with that he shunshinned out of the room.

Sarutobi leaned back, the only thought running through his head, 'I hope he's not too angry with being kept in the dark, but its time the two of them met.'

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Naruto was searching the house, high and low, but couldn't find what he was looking for. Jiraiya, who had returned a few days ago, was sitting on the couch, writing in one of his notebooks. Finally, Naruto looked up and saw a bit of orange and black on top of the bookcase.

"I see you!" Naruto yelled before jumping up to reach the top of the bookcase, but as he got there an orange blur leapt down to the floor and Naruto started to chase after it. He chased the blur up the steps, down the steps, through the kitchen where there was a crashing noise, back to the bookshelf, then to the top of the couch where the orange blur landed and then jumped off Jiraiya's head... Naruto landed on the notebook Jiraiya was writing in before jumping after the orange blur yet again.

A small twitch appeared on Jiraiya's face as he looked down at the page he'd been working on with his latest story, the orange blur followed by Naruto running back and forth in front of him with the occasional crashing noise. Finally, he seemed to snap before yelling out, "Will the two of you cut that out!"

All movement came to an abrupt stop as Naruto landed on his rear end, the orange blur landing on his head turning out to be an orange and black toad. Naruto looked at Jiraiya confused, "Huh? Gamakichi and I were just playing." The toad nodded on top of the boy's head.

Jiraiya motioned around the room to the tipped over chair, books on the floor, and one of the curtain rods for the window had fallen half off. "Well, go outside, you are making a mess."

Gamakichi, a young toad that could fit into the palm of Jiraiya's hand, gave him a thumbs up. "Okay. Maybe Naruto will finally figure out how to stick to a tree."

Naruto pouted and looked up at the toad, "Hey, its not my fault that I'm not a toad. And trying to stick to the tree with chakra is really hard."

Gamakichi shrugged, "It's easy for me. Maybe you're just doing it wrong. And if you don't get it right, you'll never catch me!" And with that the toad leapt off Naruto's head and raced out the door. Naruto chasing after him.

With a sigh, Jiraiya closed the notebook and went about cleaning up after his god-son's mess. The boy had a real knack for destruction, especially when he had his best toad friend come over. The boy had signed the contract for his sixth birthday, mostly because he had sort of begged to be allowed to, even though he didn't have anywhere near the chakra control to summon a tadpole let alone a tiny toad like Gamakichi. But Naruto had spent some time on Mount Myoboku, the home of the toads, and him and Gamakichi had become friends. So every once and awhile Jiraiya would summon the small toad so that the two of them could play. Naruto had wanted to sign the contract because he said it would mean him and Gamakichi would always be friends.

Jiraiya glanced at the clock on the wall and did some quick math in his head. Kakashi should be arriving in about two hours. Jiraiya had decided that if Naruto was going to be returning to Konoha, then Kakashi had a right to know about him first. Besides, with him being unable to be around, he wanted to know that there would be a few people looking out for the boy. His decision to not tell Kakashi about Naruto was always a difficult thing to think about. On one had, the boy had a right to know about his sensei's son but on the other hand, the more people who know a secret the more likely others were to find out. As it was, the only people that knew the full story about Naruto were Sarutobi, Tsunade, and Shizune. Even amongst the toads the only ones that knew for certain about Naruto were Ma and Pa, as well as the Great Toad Sage and Gamabunta, the rest could probably guess but Jiraiya had never openly confirmed anything.

Of course, people not finding out who Naruto's parents were but with him going back to Konoha, was kind of an issue. Because it was not hard to see the family resemblance... especially with the blond hair, as there weren't many blondes in Konoha. It was a problem that he was debating for awhile.

Sometime passed and Naruto and Gamakichi came back inside to have a snack and draw for a bit. Naruto had a notebook he kept that was filled with elaborate ideas for traps... which inevitably would be sprung on Jiraiya. The Sannin was just getting ready to sit back down to continue work on his next novel when there was a knock on the door. Jiraiya got up and headed for the door and saw Kakashi standing on the other side.

With a glance back to make sure Naruto was still busy drawing with Gamakichi, Jiraiya opened the door. "Kakashi, its good to see you. Lets talk outside for a bit." Kakashi had been about to return the greeting when he had to quickly step back so Jiraiya could step outside and shut the door behind him.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the Sannin's strange behavior, "It's good to see you as well, Master Jiraiya. It's been a long time since I saw you."

Jiraiya nodded, "About four years, when I stopped back in Konoha to have a talk with the Hokage."

After a moment of silence, Kakashi spoke up, "So, while its good to see you, why have you had me come all the way out here. I was told something about a person I'm going to be guarding that you are delivering to Konoha. Is this some sort of dangerous criminal?"

Jiraiya waved his hand back and forth, "No no, nothing like that. You see..." Jiraiya hesitated a bit unsure of how to approach the topic, "You see, there is a child, a young boy that is going to be staying in Konoha. I don't have his living arrangements set up yet, but no matter what he will be moving to Konoha to attend the Academy."

Kakashi narrowed his eye at Jiraiya, "A child... I'm not really a baby sitter."

"I'm not suggesting that you should be, Kakashi. But the boy is special and I just need to know that there is going to be someone looking out for him, to help keep him out of too much trouble."

The jonin looked towards the door to the house, "Master Jiraiya, what are you not telling me?"

Jiraiya hesitated, "Well, you see the boy I'm talking about is..."

Suddenly Jiraiya was cut off. "Hey Pervy Gramps, do we have any more juice boxes?" shouted Naruto from the door.

Jiraiya visably winced as Kakashi's eye went wide at the site of the blonde boy. Naruto came outside and tugged on Jiraiya's sleeve, but noticed Kakahi, "Oh hi! I'm Naruto... are you a friend of Gramps?"

It took Kakashi a second but finally he managed to quietly say, "I am."

Naruto then seemed to notice Kakashi's headband. "Oh wow! Are you a ninja from Konoha?!" Kakashi nodded his head. "That's awesome! I'm going to be a ninja too someday! I want to become Hokage!"

Kakashi just stared at Naruto, before Jiraiya finally spoke up. "Naruto, the juice boxes are in the cabinet behind the cereal."

Naruto looked to Jiraiya, "Oh right! Thanks Pervy Gramps!" Naruto turned to head inside before turning back, "Hey mister, if you are staying for dinner can you tell me some awesome ninja stories? We'll have enough, I always make lots of food... my Auntie Shizune taught me to cook." Kakashi just nodded again before the boy went running back into the house, Naruto could be heard yelling. "Hey Gamakichi, we're going to get to hear some awesome ninja stories later!" Before the door closed shut on its own.

Kakashi just stared at the door before slowly turning to look at Jiraiya. The Sannin was standing there with his hand on his head. Kakashi finally spoke up, "Was that..." Jiraiya nodded. "And you've had him all this..." Jiraiya nodded yet again. "And you never told me!?" Kakashi's voice was getting louder as he glared at the Sannin. "I had a right to know, Jiraiya! I had a right to know about my sensei's son!"|

Jiraiya just stood there, letting Kakashi's anger burn itself out, after taking a few steps away and taking a deep breath, Kakashi turned back to Jiraiya who moved to sit on the steps of the porch, "Master Jiraiya, why didn't you tell me?"

Jiraiya looked up at Kakashi, "Because, we needed to keep him a secret. His father had too many enemies and there were other extenuating circumstances."

Kakashi waited for Jiraiya to continue, but finally just asked, "Like what?"

The Sannin took a deep breath, "He's a jinchuriki. He's the host of the Nine-tailed Fox."

Kakashi's eye went wide and after a moment, he went and sat beside his sensei's sensei. "We were all told that Minato's child had some power that Minato tapped into to defeat the Kyuubi. No one really questioned the truth of that, it was Minato's child... anything seemed possible where Minato-sensei was involved."

Jiraiya nodded, "That was pretty much what I told Sarutobi to tell people."

"We were also told that he was placed with a family, under strict orders to not reveal the child's identity. For the last seven years every clan has been looking at each other wondering who is secretly raising the Fourth Hokage's child. There are even a few civilian families that have come under scrutiny. Of course, no one really bothers to ask because they know that even if that family is the one watching the child, they could never reveal that it was. So everyone has just been left to speculate." Jiraiya nodded. "That was your doing as well."

Jiraiya sighed, "More or less. Sarutobi refined the plan, but we had to keep people from trying to figure things out, make things confusing... to protect Naruto."

"And he's a jinchuriki... so Minato didn't really defeat Kyuubi, he just locked him away." stated Kakashi.

Jiraiya nodded, "Which is the other reason I wanted him to grow up outside the village. If people had found out he was a jinchuriki then he would have had to deal with the prejudice that comes with that. Hosts of the demons tend to not have an easy time growing up, I even heard of a boy growing up in Suna who is already gaining a reputation for being a real monster. And whether he is or not, people are going to treat him like one."

Kakashi just sat there in silence, mulling things over, finally speaking quietly, "Tell me about him."

Jiraiya leaned back and looked up at the sky, "He's a great kid, rambunctious and outspoken... like his mother... yet at times he can get quiet and think things through... like his father. Admittedly he takes after his mother quite a bit more, but he has a bit of his father's skill in him as well. He's a bit too curious for his own good, but that same sort of trait has also made him a hard worker. Most of the time he is playing he insists he is doing ninja training... and with the way he plays, he pretty much is. And he has a real knack for henge type jutsus. He's got the basic academy one down easy and he learned the camouflage jutsu a few months ago. But honestly, Kakashi, I could tell you about him all day long but I think you'd get a get a better idea by just spending time with him... and I'm sorry that you didn't get to know him the first seven years of his life, but he could use a friend now. He's about to embark on a rough part of life, because while he is eager to see Konoha, a place he loves even if he's never seen it, its also going to be something new and probably a bit intimidating."

Kakashi was quiet for a bit again, Jiraiya knew he had a lot to process so we waited patiently before Kakashi finally spoke up, "I'm still upset with you. But I understand your reasons and I can't fault you for protecting him. If I'm honest with myself, if I had known I may not have been able to handle seeing him daily, he looks so much like his parents. But I'd be happy to get to know him a bit and of course I'll keep an eye on him when he comes to Konoha."

Jiraiya nodded, "I think he'd like that. Why don't we go inside. Shizune did teach him to cook, but if I don't keep an eye on him... he'll destroy the kitchen, especially with his friend Gamakichi here. Last time those two got in the kitchen there were flour frog footprints all over the place. Oh, and perhaps you'll forgive me a bit if I give you a sneak peek at my new story, maybe the first two chapters?"

Jiraiya grinned at the jonin, whose one eye was open wide and glistening to with excitement and betraying his cool exterior. Kakashi tried to casually say, "Make it three chapters and all is forgiven."

Jiraiya nodded, "Deal! Now lets go make sure Naruto doesn't burn the house down."

0

Kakashi spent the next few hours with the Sannin, reading the first three chapters of the book, and then watching the boy as he played and then cooked dinner. The young boy had to be watched while he was in the kitchen but nothing caught on fire and there were no floods, so Jiraiya told him it was a pretty tame night. Gamakichi headed home when the food was done cooking, as he preferred to eat at home. Over dinner the boy asked question after question, wanting to know about what Kakashi could do and what sort of adventures he'd been on. Admittedly, Naruto was so excited that Kakashi only had time to answer one out of every ten questions.

Near the end of dinner, Naruto finally asked, "So who was your sensei? They must have been pretty awesome for you to be saving princesses and learning so many jutsus!"

Kakashi looked hesitantly over at Jiraiya, who nodded. Kakashi turned back to the boy, "Actually, my sensei was your father, the fourth Hokage."

Naruto's eyes practically sparkled, "You knew my dad?" Kakashi nodded. "Can you tell me about him?"

Kakashi looked up, "To this day, Minato-sensei is still the best shinobi I've ever met. He was powerful but not full of himself, he was fierce but never ruthless and he never lost a sense of who he was as a person. He was a very good sensei, even when he was incredibly busy with his other responsibilities. And he did his best to explain the necessity of teamwork. I was very lucky to have him as a sensei."

Naruto then perked up, "Hey, maybe tomorrow, could you show me some of the stuff my dad use to do to train you? That would be amazing!"

Kakashi nodded at the boy who began to jump up and down. Jiraiya was the next to speak up, "Well, its time for you to get ready for bed, Naruto." This was met with awws from the young blonde. Jiraiya looked up haughtily and rubbed his nose, "If you don't get yourself to bed then Kakashi and I can't make arrangements for you to go to Konoha and attend the Academy."

Naruto's eyes went wide, "You mean it? I get to go to Konoha?" Jiraiya nodded and this led to the boy jumping up and down and running up to hug Jiraiya. "Don't worry, Gramps. I'm gonna be an amazing ninja, just you wait and see!"

Jiraiya ruffled his hair, "I'm sure you will be, now hurry off to bed. I'll be up in a bit to tell you a story."

Naruto nodded and ran off, heading upstairs.

Jiraiya sat back down and Kakashi looked to him, "Does he know that you don't plan to stay in Konoha."

Jiraiya shook his head, "No, I'll tell him after we've reached Konoha, I want him to enjoy the moment."

And there we go folks, its kind of a setup chapter, I know. But I thought it would be important for later on. I figure one of the reasons that Kakashi is so distant with Naruto is that right after his sensei died he kept seeing this boy who looked just like him and that had to be difficult. In this, while he was denied seeing Naruto while he was younger, it gave him a chance to heal, so maybe he'll be able to be closer to Naruto now. So that is the basis for this. And for note, at this point while Naruto has indeed signed the Toad Contract, he is not able to summon, he did truly do it for the fact that he wanted him and Gamakichi to stay close friends. But for the time being, he just doesn't have the chakra control or skill to summon even a tadpole. Please give me a review of what you think. Next chapter will see Naruto's first glimpse of Konoha!


	4. Chapter 4

Heya folks, I'm glad that those that have been reviewing have enjoyed the story so far. As I stated before, I'm a huge noob so its good to hear. To respond to a couple of reviews -

Mzr90: It will probably not be a Hinata pairing. I do really like NarutoxHinata pairings, but I read a lot of Naruto fanfic and it does seem to get used a lot. I haven't decided on an exact pairing yet, but we'll see what happens.

Apedreitor: They are a bit short, but I'm still getting used to this and I wasn't sure what length I should be shooting for. Chapter lengths always seemed to vary greatly based on the writer.

Narudevilfan: I think you may be correct, but I figure even if Jiraiya is described as an orphan, that doesn't mean he can't have had a sibling.

So yeah folks, keep the reviews coming, they definitely help to motivate me to write. And I'm also finding it really nifty to see all the different countries that have seen my story.

Onto the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Toad Boy

Chapter 4: Konoha Village

A week after Kakashi showed up, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Naruto were walking down the road headed towards Konoha. Naruto had his pack on his back and he couldn't help but smile as with every step he got close to his parent's village. Although admittedly, he was occasionally distracted as he reached up and scratched his black hair.

Naruto looked to Jiraiya, "It still itches!"

Jiraiya sighed yet again, "It was necessary Naruto. You look too much like your dad, we had to take some precaution. And you'll have to get use to it, you have to keep it dyed for some time. Now remember, you can't tell anyone about who you are. And I still want you going by your mother's name, Uzumaki, your father's last name is too dangerous to use while you are this young."

The boy pouted for a moment, but he nodded, "I know Pervy Gramps, you've only told me a bajillion times. But it still itches."

Kakashi looked down at young Naruto. Over the week the two had gotten considerably closer although Kakashi was still a bit hesitant about dealing with kids. Kakashi had played/trained with Naruto and had been amazed at the boys stamina. It had been a good week but Kakashi was looking forward to getting back, he had an old friend to go and pay his respects to.

Kakashi looked back to see Naruto fidgeting with his hair again, "You'll get use to it, Naruto. And besides, think of it like training. Sometime down the road you may have a mission where you need to hide and doing something like changing your appearance can be a necessity."

Naruto looked to Kakashi, "Isn't that what a henge is for."

The one-eyed jonin nodded, "True, and that is really useful for a quick disguise. But if it needs to last and you are going to be under scrutiny, some may be able to see a chakra signature from the henge. So knowing how to disguise yourself normally could be very useful."

Naruto seemed to think about it and then smiled, "Gotcha Kakashi niisan!"

It was the first time Naruto had called Kakashi 'niisan' and it caused the jonin to pause a second, but after a moment he smiled at the boy. Jiraiya hid is own smile, he was pleased at how well the two of them were getting along.

The three continued to walk down the road and as they came around a corner, the large open gates of Konoha loomed before them, with Naruto getting his first glimpse of the village. Naruto was so excited he wanted to run straight into the village and start to explore. But Jiraiya had specifically told him that he had to stay close, but Naruto craned his neck this way and that trying to see as much as he could with more of the village being visible as they go closer.

Konoha was everything he had hoped, the walls around it seemed huge and through the gate he saw all the white buildings with the many colored roofs, although lots of reds, oranges, and yellows, with the occasional blue roof thrown in. There were larger buildings in the distance and then behind all of those rose of the Hokage Mountain. Naruto felt his eyes immediately drawn to the giant visage of his father and he smiled, so happy to finally see his home that his eyes got a bit teary. Naruto thought to himself, 'I'm finally home, mom and dad. Don't worry, I'll look over it now, just like you guys did.'

Naruto felt a hand rest on his shoulder and he looked up to see Jiraiya smiling down at him. Naruto smiled back and wiped the water from his eyes. Jiraiya smiled at the boy, "Welcome to Konoha, Naruto. This is your village."

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Jiraiya and Naruto walked down the street, Naruto's eyes still drinking up all the sights. Kakashi walked a bit behind the two. Naruto was so lost in looking at every store front and all the people that he almost missed it as Jiraiya stopped walking. Naruto turned to his god-father and then followed Jiraiya's gaze to a shop at the end of the street. The shop seemed to be slightly apart from the rest of the block because it had walls to either side of it, sort of like a compound, although nothing quite to that scale. The sign in front of the shop read, 'Twin Dragon Ninja Supplies'.

Jiraiya knelt down next to Naruto, "Why don't you go check out that shop. I'll be along in a minute, I just need to speak to Kakashi for a moment."

Naruto nodded, "You got it, Gramps!" Naruto was excited and couldn't wait to see his first ninja store. He'd been to places that sold supplies before but they were usually stalls. As Naruto entered the shop his eyes went wide at the variety and sheer amount of weapons. Along the walls there were sword racks with all different types of blades sitting in them. There were displays with different mesh armor, gloves, arm and leg guards. Everywhere Naruto looked there were shuriken, kunai, various weapons, and tag supplies, it was really impressive.

Of course the piece of ninja equipment that Naruto really wanted, was a headband, but there were none there. So Naruto just started to wander and look at everything, the store wasn't huge but it certainly wasn't a hole in the wall sort of place either.

Naruto had just seen a sword that he thought looked pretty cool and he was reaching up to take a look at it. When an man's voice spoke up, "Hello there, youngster. I don't mind young ninja in the store, but if you need something let me know and I'll take it down for you."

Naruto turned and looked at the man who was clearly the shop owner, he was the same height as Jiraiya but while his hair was white it was close cut instead of long, and while Jiraiya was no weakling the man's arms and legs were huge! The man looked like he could wrestle a bear. He wore plain black pants and a sleeveless green shirt. The man smiled down at Naruto and now he could clearly see the family resemblance, it was in the smile if nothing else. This had to be Jiraiya's brother, Kenta.

Kenta seemed worried he'd scared him, "It's alright youngster, can I help..." But his words were cut off as the door to the shop opened again and in walked Jiraiya. The two's eyes met and they just looked at each other, emotion leaving the shop owner's face. Finally, Jiraiya came over and knelt down next to Naruto. "Naruto, I'd like you to meet my brother, Kenta. He runs this store and is one of the best smiths Konoha has, he specializes in Ninja weapons and armor.

Naruto looked back and forth between the two older men, but then gave the smith his big smile and bowed slightly, "It's nice to meet you, Kenta-san. Did you make all these weapons?!"

Kenta's eyes went down to the young black haired boy slowly, but when they did the smith put a bit of a smile onto his face. "It's good to meet you Naruto. And yes, with a few exceptions, I made everything in this shop. If you go to the Academy then you've probably used my tools as I supply all of the school's ninja supplies."

Naruto shook his head, "No, I don't go yet. But I'm hoping that I can start soon."

After that there was some uncomfortable silence and Naruto started to feel a bit awkward. There was a lot of tension between Kenta and Jiraiya, and Naruto couldn't help but start to fidget as his eyes went between the two. Still the two hadn't said anything to each other.

Finally, Jiraiya spoke up, "It's good to see you, Kenta. You look well."

Kenta stared at Jiraiya, "You still dress like a homeless pervert... but you look well. It's been awhile, little brother."

Jiraiya let out a sigh before looking up at his brother and meeting his eyes, "Kenta, I kind of need your help."

Kenta raised an eyebrow at his brother, "Why don't we talk in private." He turned to Naruto while motioning to the back door. "Youngster, why don't you go out back, my daughter is out there practicing."

Naruto looked back and forth between Kenta and Jiraiya before nodding and heading through the door in the back. Despite the front building being used as a store, the rest of the complex showed that this was a home. Directly in front of Naruto was a large building that was obviously the house, to the left along the wall was the forge where Naruto assumed a majority of Kenta's crafting was done. But off to the right was what looked like a weapons training area. That alone would have drawn Naruto's eye but there was also a girl there, maybe a bit older than him with dark hair, who was practicing throwing kunai at a target. Naruto stood there, curious to see how the girl was doing, as practicing with his kunai was something he was constantly trying to improve with, and this girl seemed to be throwing at a target about twice the distance he was used to. With a steady hand and quicker than Naruto ever could have thrown, the girl tossed six kunai at the target and hit dead center with each one. To say Naruto was impressed would be an understatement.

Naruto's mouth was still wide open in amazement when he realized the girl had turned around and noticed him, her eyes curiously raised, after a moment she walked over to Naruto who was just on the path outside the back of the shop. Upon reaching him she asked, "Can I help you?"

Naruto looked passed her to the target, "That... was really impressive! I can't throw kunai like that! You are really good!"

The girl smiled at him, "Thanks! Although you should probably head back up front, back here isn't really for customers."

Naruto shook his head, "Oh sorry, my name is Naruto. Kenta-san told me to come back here while he talked to my gramps. Are you his daughter?"

The girl nodded, "Yeah, I am. My name is Tenten, do you want to try and throw some kunai? I can watch you and give you some pointers, if you're interested."

Naruto's eyes went wide, "Yeah! That would be great! Thanks Tenten-san!"

Tenten smiled at Naruto but held up her hands, "Just Tenten is fine. Come on." She led Naruto back over to the training area after he put down his travel pack. "Have you practiced with kunai much?" Naruto nodded his head. "Alright, lets try out at the nearest target." Tenten pointed to the throwing line for the closest target, it was obviously well used because it showed signs of having many many kunai getting stuck in it. Naruto pulled out his three practice kunai and started to focus on the target, but before he could throw, Tenten spoke up. "Hey, wait a sec." Naruto turned to her. "Are those practice kunai?"

Naruto looked at the kunai, "Well yeah, I'm still learning so my gramps has had me using practice kunai."

Tenten shook her head, "Here try it with these. I've found that while practicing with training kunai are handy to learn basic technique... you shouldn't use them for long. You have to get use to the heft of a regular kunai or it'll throw you off when you finally have to start using them. Besides... its a better work out." Tenten reached into a kunai holster on her hip and took out three kunai and held them out to Naruto.

Naruto put his kunai away and happily took the three kunai from Tenten, before going back to looking at the target.. He focused for a moment on the target before letting each of them fly one after another. Naruto could easily tell the difference in the weight of the weapon and he watched in dismay as one hit the target on the outside, another hit the pole holding the target and the other clipped the side of the target and fell to the ground.

Naruto hung his head in dismay, "Dang it! I normally do a lot better than that."

Tenten laughed lightly from behind him and then he felt a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry about it Naruto. Especially, if that is the first time you've ever thrown a real kunai. Go grab the kunai back and let me give you some pointers.

For the next fifteen minutes Tenten and Naruto worked on having him throw kunai, she corrected his stance and told him he was gripping the kunai wrong and walked him through tons of pointers. By the end of the fifteen minutes Naruto was able to at least get two out of the three kunai to hit the target, on the outside admittedly but it was certainly better than his first throw.

Naruto was clearly impressed, Tenten could only be a year older than him, but she was a lot farther ahead, "Wow Tenten, you really know your stuff. Are you a ninja?"

Tenten shook her head, "Nope, not yet at least. I'm in the Academy and I hope to be an amazing kunoichi some day. But I've still got years left of school to go."

"I bet your going to be awesome!" Naruto said. "I'm hoping to start at the Academy too. I want to be Hokage!"

Tenten laughed, "Wow, the Hokage? That's a big goal!" Naruto nodded. "Well, as long as you keep practicing I think you'll get there." Tenten leaned down and made to speak to Naruto quietly, "I'll make you a deal, I'll let you keep those three kunai and give you some pointers now and again, and when you become Hokage, you make sure I get some really good missions."

Naruto looked at Tenten with a smile, "You gotta deal!" Naruto went back over to his pack and stored his training kunai there before putting the his new kunai into his holster.

Tenten looked at the boy, "Should we go see if your gramps is all done talking to my dad?" Naruto nodded and the two of them headed back towards the shop.

0 0 0 0

Jiraiya watched as Naruto walked out the back door, then looked down and closed his eyes. "Look, Kenta I know you must be ang..." Jiraiya was about to say 'angry' when two arms encircled him and pulled him into a strong hug. Jiraiya's eyes flew open and then he hugged his brother back.

After a moment, Kenta pulled back and held Jiraiya out at arms length. "Its good to see you again, little brother." Kenta made to pull Jiraiya back into another hug and the still slightly stunned Jiraiya was taken off guard when it became a swift jab to the stomach, and when Jiraiya bent over it was followed by a slap to the back of the head. "I can't believe you haven't come to see me for ten years!"

Jiraiya looked up slightly and coughed out, "Its a couple month shy of ten..." Jiraiya shut up after another hard slap to the back of the head. "Sorry niisan. Although admittedly you did say you never wanted to see my ungrateful face again." Jiraiya jumped back to avoid another slap to the back of the head.

Kenta stood there with a frown on his face, "We were arguing! Its what brothers do but you shouldn't have stayed away so long!"

The Sannin looked to his older brother, "You could have contacted me."

Kenta stared at his brother like he was an idiot, "And how was I supposed to get a hold of the great and mysterious Jiraiya. As far as I know you haven't lived in one place for a long time. The only reason I even knew you were still alive is you were still releasing your books."

Jiraiya was about to say something when he stopped... and then begrudgingly said, "Okay, maybe you have a point there. But its not like I've been just sitting around. I've been busy!"

The blacksmith crossed his arms and smiled at Jiraiya, "Yes, I can see that. Took after your older brother and had a kid late in life, huh? Knocked up some young girl didn't ya."

Jiraiya shook his head, "No no no, Naruto isn't mine. He's my god-son."

Kenta laughed deeply, "Who put you in charge of a kid?!"

The Sannin looked out the front window of the store to the hokage mountain, "One of my former students."

Kenta kept laughing for a moment, but then noticed the direction of Jiraiya's gaze and after another moment or two of confusion, Kenta's jaw fell open. Kenta slowly turned to look at the door Naurto left through, "You've got to be kidding me..."

Jiraiya had known his brother would figure it out with little prompting, but he shook his head, "You can't tell anyone. For the boy's sake."

The older man headed back around to the other side of the shop's counter, before pulling out a small flask and two cups. He motioned for Jiraiya to join him and the sannin made his way to the counter. The two picked up the cups and each took a drink. "Before we go any farther, I'm sorry about Jia Li."

Kenta winced a bit at the name, "I was angry at you for not showing up to the funeral, but I guess I know why now. Let's clear the air. She got hurt and I blamed you for that. It was unfair, but I was so angry that she got hurt on a mission and... I took it out on you."

Jiraiya kept his eyes down, "She was under my command."

Kenta shook his head, "Jia Li was a ninja, like you, it was just a part of the risk. It just didn't seem fair that she had to be the one to get hurt, I was angry that you didn't protect her, but it wasn't your fault. And then three years later, when the Kyuubi attacked... she wouldn't just stay home, even if she wasn't active anymore. She wanted to defend our home and our village. And she died a hero... but my daughter had to be raised not knowing her mother." Kenta took let out a long sigh. "But I'm getting older and I can't hold onto grudges any longer and now my daughter is set on following in her mother's footsteps and become a ninja as well."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, "I'm surprised you're okay with that."

Kenta let out a deep laugh, "I don't have much of a choice in the matter. My little Tenten is just as stubborn as her mother and has her same knack with weapons."

Jiraiya laughed along with his brother, "You named your daughter after your wife's old nickname. Is she living up to the ole ten out of ten?"

"Not just yet, but she certainly isn't far off", said the older of the two. Kenta sighed, "So... what do you need, Jiraiya? You said you needed my help."

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, well its a bit complicated and really the favor isn't entirely for me."

Kenta's eyes narrowed, "I haven't changed so much in my old age that I've grown patient with you pussyfooting around. Spit it out."

Jiraiya laughed, "Naruto needs a place to stay, to attend the Academy." Jiraiya rushed on to continue speaking before his brother could say anything. "I've been taking care of him for the last seven years and I really don't want to not be with him, but he wants to attend the Academy and I can't stay in the village. I don't want the boy to end up in foster-care and I don't trust anyone else to look after him. He can admittedly be a handful at times, but he's really a good kid and I trust you more than just about anyone else in the village to look after him."

Jiraiya was clearly ready to continue, but Kenta held up his hand, "Hold on." Kenta took a deep breath. "Little brother, you can't just show up and ask me to look after your kid. I'm happy to see you, but that is a lot of responsibility. I'm just not sure..." Jiraiya was looking a bit downcast but Kenta's words were cut short by the back door of the store opening and Tenten and Naruto walked in.

Tenten looked to her dad, "Hey daddy, we aren't interrupting are we?"

Kenta looked between the kids and his little brother. "Tenten, I'd like you to meet your uncle, Jiraiya."

Tenten bow slightly to Jiraiya but looked more confused than anything else, she looked to her father again "This is Uncle Jiraiya?"

Kenta nodded, "Him and young Naruto there are going to be staying with us for a few days, can you prepare the guest room and show Naruto around a bit."

Tenten was still clearly a bit confused and looked back at Naruto but the boy just shrugged at her. Looking back to Kenta, she said "Sure dad."

Naruto was looking at Jiraiya and the Sannin gave him a slight smile and a nod to follow the girl, as she turned and headed back out the door.

When the kids had walked out, Jiraiya looked towards Kenta, "Thank you, niisan."

Kenta shook his head, "I haven't said yes. You stay for awhile and we'll talk, I'm not making you any promises. But we are family and I'm not just going to chuck you out the door. Besides, I did miss my little brother."

Jiraiya smiled at Kenta, his brother had clearly changed over the years, but then again he wasn't the same person since he started raising Naruto either. He nodded to Kenta, "I've missed my older brother."

Kenta smiled at his little brother then, a glint in his eyes, "So... when is the next book coming out?"

0

There we go folks! I hope you enjoyed the fourth Chapter. Jiraiya had a brother... and that brother is Tenten's father. Now before anyone gets on me about ages. I'll cover it right now...

At this point in the fic:

Naruto is 7.

Tenten is 8.

Jiraiya is 45.

Kenta is 48. (which being a father at 40 is certainly not unreasonable)

It does work out and this also gives me an opportunity to explore Tenten as a character. I really liked her when they introduced her and I always wished they would explore her character a bit more. So anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter, I'm certainly enjoying writing it. As always please give me a review at the end, I love feedback!


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